Gutless And Heartless, And That’s Just The Celtic Board..
Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson watch on as Celtic draw 0-0 with Kairat at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off match, worth over £40m to the winners.
With the boast that Celtic have £60 million-or more, sitting in the bank, it’s a shallow boast. Starting the most important game we will play this season with aging stars-and duds- you know who they are, is a treacherous act from a treacherous board.
I gave them the benefit of the doubt when multiple targets were flashed across our computer screens, but it was, just like the suits, a smokescreen.
Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
I won’t go into a personal professional assassination of players who should be nowhere near a modern-day Celtic team, especially in a game of this magnitude, but, I am beyond angry that they have been hung out to dry by our Scrooge-like beancounters.
An abysmal performance by the whole team has left us begging for a second chance, away, next week, in a hostile, baking, cauldron against a hardworking, decent outfit.
Playing keep-ball in our own backline at 0-0 with only four minutes to play? Says it all. Even our most trusted players bottled it tonight.
Alistair Johnston of Celtic is stretchered off after sustaining an injury during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Has Brendan Rodgers made his point at our expense, or did he play his best eleven? Make your own mind up about this, but if Celtic fail to play in this year’s Champions League, the atmosphere around Celtic Park will be akin to the year we chucked the 10 into the bin.
The ‘bored’ want to sack the board – I don’t blame them. If we go out next week, that sea of voices will become a tsunami. Sort it out, or leave!
Eddie Murray
Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic reacts during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Do you agree with Eddie or do you have an alternative take on where Celtic have found ourselves. After the heartache in Munich when we came so very close to causing a major shock ourselves as a team we seem to have gone backwards at an alarming rate.
Kairat won’t score many goals, indeed they might even be happy to play exactly the same way and look for the odd chance – unlike Celtic they actually had the ball in the back of the net last night.
And remember they knocked out Slovan Bratislava having scored a penalty in the first leg then converting all their spot kicks in a shoot-out. Terrible visions of us being in that position on Tuesday night in Almaty.
Please post your own opinions in the Comments section below…
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I thought your point was eloquently put. To bank money in case we don’t qualify ensured we may not qualify for the group stages. The leadership of the club lacks imagination, courage and ambition.
The line you always hear from the people who attempt to defend this is why should we spend all the sixty million and not be guaranteed progress.
For the hard of thinking, “NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT SPENDING OUR ENTIRE SURPLUS BUT FOR ONCE, IN THE NAME OF GOD JUST ONCE, SPEND TEN OR FIFTEEN MILLION MORE THAN
WE BRING IN.”
We’ve now got to the stage where we are not even spending what we bringing in on transfers.
People can do basic maths: they can see how much we got for Kuhn and the various other player and academy players and know that there is at least fifteen million sitting there, and that is before you get to the money brought in with season tickets.
My patience is at an end with these wasters and charlatans who drag Celtic down in order to make our domestic league look competitive.
Our club has been run with the financial handbrake on for at least six years now.
The people who are buying players are paying no attention to what the manager believes he needs for the team.
Nepotism and egos are running roughshod over the business of putting the best team possible on the park.
Someone suggested to me over the summer that the reason we don’t buy early in a transfer window is to save on wages from July and August. We’ll, if that is the case then we should really just pack it in but in the absence of any activity it is as good an explanation as any.
For the second summer transfer window we are going into the final few weeks of the window far weaker than we should be. Even Artificial Intelligence wouldn’t make that same mistake twice if it was running the club. It certainly wouldn’t make that mistake when you factor in the fact that our most financially lucrative games are played in August.
Another way of looking at it forest johnston dont combine like khun forest dosent hit byline forest legs have gone Johnson makes so much runs forest ignores him khun was ten yards from touchline when him and Johnston interacted forest is collecting ball 35yds from byline and goes inside or back he just hasn’t got the tools carter vickers hold on to ball never one touch pass why was crowd and players so nervous passes were to slow Miadea and Tierney getting better understanding then Teirney subbed had to move Miaeda inside for the in affected adah my worry is the opposition play same way at home cause we never looked like getting behind them if they come out we will win no doubt but why should they done the same with brugge defended at home Rodgers is trying to put pegs in round holes that all he has we know ihda cant play with his back two goals know this team from kakistan is no better than teams we play most weeks and we could see we couldn’t get behind them the board have a hard sell getting top players to spl
I hope we tried thats the problem when we win this game if opposition attacking more and getting rid of nerves we will have champions league football to put on table no top players going to sign on for spl I’d have put McGowan on instead of engels he has dribbling qualities Engels has dead ball qualities its easier to play for a 0-0 than a win but short of wingers it hurts we couldn’t get one Martins is setting his side up to beat Celtic but he forgets Celtic are the only team in SPL that attack them he thinks beaten Celtic you win the league that plans in the bin
is it just a coincidence that everything was going great at Celtic till a certain mr lawwell (officially) returned to the club. To this day i’ve never met a fellow Celtic supporter who wanted him back, he’s called Liewell for a reason. We’re heading back to his model for Celtic, spend as little as possible so come the end of the season there is plenty left to make sure his tory friends and share holders have cause to celebrate. He’s tried to force Brendan out by not backing him in the hope that he would walk like he did the last time, but the manager learned from the last time and stated he would see the 3 years out, not what lawwell was hoping for. Does anyone really believe a man ( Nicholson ) who has never been heard to utter two words negotiates transfers etc with other clubs?.. Liewell never left, hopefully this time the Celtic supporters will make sure he’s gone forever.
There area a lot of valid points made all over the place about Celtic’s board’s lack of initiative and ambition. The failure of our youth development and the tired state of the ground are symbols of that. Change is certainly needed. But, like it or not, from a business point of view they have done a lot of good things and their period in charge is statistically the most successful in our history.
The culprits last night were the management team and the players. We set up exactly the same way every game and when using substitutes just go like for like. There is too slow build up, too predictable and repetitive. We are so easy to set up against even Rangers have got it sussed now. Why not change the system now and again – especially in the game next week when we should be solid and play on the break like our opponents did last night.
We never shoot from distance, terrible at corners (why does one of the centre halfs hang back and attack the ball instead of standing underneath a lofted near post ball), no-one to score from free kicks. Its boring to watch and too predictable.
Board did spend money last year with very understated results so probably over cautious now. Players need to up their efforts and manager needs to use some imagination and change things to make an impact.
Board has become too complacent and need the voice of change – someone younger and with experience of big clubs elsewhere.
What jave they done in their tenure?
The managers and coaches play and develop the players who leave for decent fees.
The stadium is in dire need of development. Still no hot water, the food is rank. The main stand needs done.
What have they done, put new dugouts in? restricted a ton of people’s views.
Our annual turnover minus player sales and cl money is almost the same as what it was years ago.
How many times do we need to watch this shitshow every single summer?
They only thing they’ve done consistently is strip the squad of our best assets and gamble with champions league qualification time and time again.
The manager has asked for quality umpteen times and again hes been hit with players we dont need or want.
Before you come back and say he wasted 26m last year think before you open your mouth.
Engles played in 51 of 52 games last year. A 29 year old lad in his first season with us. He scored 13 goals and made 10 assists I believe. Idah scored 20 odd goals mostly from the bench and trusty had some great games and some not so great. The press are currently trying to drum up 25m for raskin from the huns who had a fraction of engles numbers last year. Its the press who are desperate to label engles and the other two flops as it would make them happy to make them out to be failures. Idah’s confidence is shot to shit and no wonder.
Its not his fault the board fucked up the negotiations and paid what they did.
Every man and their dug wanted him back after his loan spell and anyone who says other wise is a liar. Most of the time hes been starved of service as the opposition are nine times out of ten playing with 11 men behind the ball. Gee us all peice with the backing of the board bullshit.
Why was it when mckay was in charge we were absolutely flying in everything we did?
The board would be more than happy to see us go back to trading titles with the manky bastards from across the city.
It looks like the old biscuit tin has been retired – it’s now a matchbox we use
My solution to this problem is for Rodgers to play a weakened team in the hope that we get beat and end up in the Europa League. This would take at least £20M off the parasites that run ? our club.
In the Europa League we would be out by Xmas, leaving them even less.
All we need then is to get the fans to stop buying Adidas merchandise which would eventually result in losing the contract contract.
Then the fans stop buying European tickets..
You can see where I am going here, the only thing our Board wants is more money,, let’s take as much as we can. Hail Hail.
I don’t favour boycotts but I agree we are too slow going forward. Look at the pace of club Brugge against Glasgow Espanoyl Engels was supposed to replace O’ Reilly, he is a super player with t enormous potential but he hasn’t stepped up yet to exert influence. The failure to bring in a striker snd a wide player is criminal.
good reading so far, I agree that we did so much better when Lawwell left, How the hell did he sneak back in and Celtic end up selling our best players and getting very little in replacement for them. I also wonder why Rogers set up starting Idah, Forrest and also insists in putting the new winger we got in the wing in Engels place or Barnardo’s place.
Now we have our best right back out injured and only have Ralston as a backup. We had a very good defender that got sent out on loan that could have been backup for Johnston, Rogers didn’t like him even after playing great against Rangers then Hearts last year.
Was it the board or manager that brought in Engles and Idah at the last minute.
Celtic have been mentioned that they have been interested in so many half decent players but whoever controls the money would not pay anywhere near the asking price.
I look forward to the next game next Tuesday but hopefully we put out our best starting 11 that are fit to pl;ay and attack much faster than the first half on Wednesday.
Celtic have to use their free kicks wiser, at times they need to attack the oponents box and not take the short free kicks all the time.